Rail-joint.



No. 871,140. PATENTED NOV. 19, 1907.

A. T. PALMER.

-RAIL JOINT.

APPLIoATIoN FILBDTEB. 1, 1907.

PATENT OFFICE.

ALPHONSO T. PALMER, OF CLYDE, ILLINOIS.

RAIL-JOINT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 19, 1907'.

Application filed February l. 1907- Serial No. 355.232.

To all 'whom tt may concern:

Be it known that I, ALPHoNso T. PALMER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Clyde, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Rail- Teinte, of which thefollowing `is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in rail joints and moreparticularly to that class of joints in which the ends of the rails areheld in alinement by means of fish-plates or splice bars, which areclamped and held in position between the head and base flange of ltherails without necessarily relying upon the presence of bolts or otherpositive fastening means.

The primary object is to provide an improved form of clamp which willengage the fish-plate or splice bars on each side of the rail, thepressure thereof being due to its elasticity and which will serve toprevent a 4vertical movement of the rail.

A further object is to provide an improved clamp havingvan integralsupport for the rail.

yA further object is to provide an improved elastic clamp provided withjaws having` engagpment with the rail on both sides of the web and whichjaws are capable of independentr yielding movement with relation to theelasticity of the body of the clamp.

To theattainment of these ends and the accomplishment of other new anduseful objects, `as will appear, the invention consistsin the featuresof novelty in the construction,'combination and arrangement of theseveral parts hereinafter more fully describedia'nd claimed and shown inthe accompanying'drawing, illustrating an exemplifi- .cation oftheinvention and in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the meeting endsof two rails having a clamp constructed in accordance with theprinciples of this invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a sectional view'on line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is aperspective view of one of the'lishplates.

Referring more particularly to the drawingvand in this exemplificationof the invention, the numeral 5 designates the meeting ends of tworails, ywhich are supported by the usual ties 6, and 7 designates'fish-plates or splice bars, which may be secured inl pc- Asition to therails by means of the bolts 8 which pass through the ish-plates and theweb of the rail. These fish-plates are adapted to engage the lower faceof the ball and the upper face of the base flange 9 of the rails and isprovided with a laterally projecting flange portion 10 at the lowerextremity thereof which rests upon the upper face of the base flange 9of the rail. The flange 10 is preferably provided with a cut-awayportion 11 located intermediate its ends and adjacent the center thereofand this cutaway portion isl adapted to stand between the ties 6 whenthe fish-plate or splice bar is in position. The flange is also providedwith cut-away or notched portions 12 on each side of the cut-awayportion 11, which are adapted to receive the spikes 13, which are driveninto the ties 6 for holding the rails against longitudinal movement.

A clamp 14, preferably of a C-shape having its open portion at the topthereof, is constructed of any suitable material and the ends of theclamp terminate in yielding extremities 15 which project inwardly toform jaws adapted to engage and rest upon the upper face of the baseflange of the fish-plate or splice bars 7.

Projecting inwardly from the sides of the clamp 14 are projections orsupports 16 which terminate short of each other and are preferablylprovided with flat upper faces 17, which cooperate with the yieldingextremities or jaws 15 and serve as a support for the rail 5.

After the sh-plates or splice bars 7 have been applied to the rail, theclamp 14 may be placed in position in any suitable manner, the clamp maythen be applied by spreading the jaws or extremities 15, together withthe supports 16, in any suitable manner, preferably by means of a jackand the clamp then slipped onto the ends of the rail so that the bodyportion of the clamp will be spaced from the rail, and the base flange9, together with the flange 10 of the fish-plate or splice bar 7, willstand between and respectively engage the support 16 and the yieldingextremity or jaw 15 of the clamp. When in this position and the jackremoved or the jaws released, the natural spring of the clamp 14 willcause the jaws to press the splice bars or fish-plates 7 toward the webof the rail, the upper and lower extremities of the fishplates or barsbeing beveled or inclined to correspond respectively with the lower faceof the ball and the upper face of the base flange of the rail, frictionwill be exerted between these parts and when in position and iio thusreleased the vibration of the rails caused by the passage of a carthereover will tend to cause the clamp 14 to exert a greater strain uponthe fish-plates or splice bars to force them closer together or towardsthe web of the rail and as the jaws or extremities l5 have a yieldingmovement independent of the spring action of the body of the clamp, itpermits the clamp to exert a greater tension upon the fish-plates orsplice bars. This clamp is located between the ties 6 and ispreferablyof such a length as to extend substantially the entiredistance of the space between the ties and is of a height to terminateshort of the base of the ties 6 so that dirt or ballast may be tampedunder the base thereof to form a support directly upon the ground forthe clamp. i

Then in position, the ends of the clamp adjacent the jaws or extremities15 are adapted to stand in the cut-away portion 11 so as to hold thefish-plates or bars 7 against longitudinal movement with respect to thetie. It will thus be seen that the continual vibration of the rails willcause the clamp to force the iish-plates orsplice bars towards the weband that the closer the fish-plates or splice bars are brought to theweb the tighter the ends of the rail will be gripped.

In order that the invention might be fully understood by those skilledin the art, the details of the foregoing embodiment have been thusspecifically described, but

Vhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is- 1. In arail joint, the combination of the rails, fish plates, an elastic clamppassing under the rails, said clamp being provided with jaws havingengagement with the fish plates on each side of the web, and a supportfor the rail integral with the clamp.

2. In a rail joint, the combination of the rails, fish plates, acontinuous elastic clamp passing under the rails, said clamp beingprovided with jaws having engagement with the fish plates on each sideof the web, and a support for the rail integral with the clamp.

3. In a rail joint, the combination of the rails, fish plates, anelastic clamp, the body portion thereof passing under and being spacedfrom the rail, the ends of the clamp having engagement with the fishplates on each side of the web, and a support for the rail within theclamp, said support being integral with the clamp and located adjacentthe end thereof.

4. In a rail joint, the combination of the rails, fish plates, anelastic clamp passing under and spaced from the rails, said clamp beingprovided with jaws, said aws having engagement with the flsh plates'oneach side of the web, and means integral with and located within theclamp for supporting the rail.

5. In a rail joint, the combination of the rails, fish plates, anelastic clamp passing under and spaced from the rails, said clamp beingprovided with integral inwardly projecting portions for supporting therail, and elastic jaws on the clamp beyond the projecting portions, saidjaws having engagemeit with the fish plates on each side of the We 6. Ina rail joint, the combination. of the rails, fish plates, an elasticsubstantially C- shaped clamp passing under the rails, the ends of saidclamp being formed into inwardly projecting portions adapted to supportthe rail, and independently yielding extremities substantially parallelto and cooperating with the respective projecting portions and adaptedto clamp the base of the fish plates. v

7. In a rail joint, the combination of the rails, fish plates, vanelastic substantially C- shaped clamp passing under the rails, the endsof said clamp being formed into inwardly projecting portions terminatingshort of each other and adapted to support the rails, and independentlyyielding extremities substantially parallel with the projectingportions, said extremities cooperating with the respective projection toclamp the base of the fish plates therebetween and on each side of theweb.

8. In a rail joint, the combination ofthe rails, fish plates, an elasticsubstantially C- shaped clamp, the body of which passes under and isspaced from the rails, the extremities of the clamp being formed intoindependently yielding aws having engagement with the upper face of thebase of the fish plates on each side of the web, and each side of theclamp being provided with an in* wardly projecting` portion integraltherewith, said projections being adapted to support the rail and beinglocated adjacent to and cooperating with the respective yieldingextremity of the clamp to clamp the base of the fish plates.

In testimony whereof I have signedy my naine to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 29th day of JanuaryA. D. 1907.

ALPHONSO T. PALMER.

Witnesses:

J. L. JocHUM, Jr., M. WV. CANTwELL.

